Water heater for coffee making



LSLZ@ March 14, 1933. E. GREEN WATER HEATER FOR COFFEE MAKING Filed March 24, 1932 5 SheeilS-Shee l 271 ren-or.'

les E grae/7 j ,4 "f L 5M UVM March 14, 1933. L, B. GREEN WATER HEATER FOR COFFEE MAKING Filed March 24, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 rnvenor Le@ E. Greer;

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Iql/en-or- L' Si Greeq March 14, 1933. L., B. GREEN WATER HEATER FOR COFFEE MAKING Filed March 24, 1952 'VON Patented Mar. 14,` 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LEE B. GREEN, OF LAKEWOOD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GLOBE MACHINE & STAMPING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION 0F OHIO WATER HEATER FOR COFFEE MAKING' Application filed March 24, 1932. Serial No. 600,877.

My invention relates to a liquid heater adapted to be connected to a liquid supply pipe, and arranged for affording a continuously available supply of heated liquid at an approximately constant temperature without requiring any manual operations for controlling either the replenishing of the Water supply or the heating of the Water.

In some of its general objects, my inventionA aims to provide a liquid heater of this lclass which will normally store a Vsupply of the heated liquid, which will automatically replenish this supply Without cooling the stored liquid Whenever some of the latter has been drawn off and Without cooling the remainder of the stored liquid; and Which Will have a large capacity for supplying the hot liquid, in proportion to the size of the heater.

In some further obj ects,my invention aims to provide a liquid heater of this class which can readily be adj usted as to the temperature of the stored liquid, which Will permit this temperature to be close to the boiling point of the liquid Without emitting any material amount of vapor from the heater; and which Acan readily be adjusted so as to eliminate substantially all of the air from the liquid.

More particularly, my invention aims to provide an electric heater of this class in `which the entering liquid is vaporized and de-aerated either entirely or to a substantially controlled extent before this liquid is added to the store of available heated liquid in the Aheater; and in which the heating, vaporizing and de-aerating can be effected Witharelatively lovx7 consumption of current and of time.

Furthermore, my invention aims to provide an electric heater of the above general types in Which'both the current and the supply of Water to theheater will be automatically and conjointly controlled according to the level of the stored heated liquid; and in which the rate of liquid supply can easily be adjusted according to the temperature and pressure of the available source of liquid and according to the capacity of the electric heating member.

In addition, my inventionaims to provide a liquid heater of the above mentioned type which will enable various parts to be mounted respectively in different sections of the heater, which Will allow needed adjustments to be made Without disassembling any parts, which will permit a convenient separation of these parts Without a substantial disassembling of the heater, and which will be easily cleaned.

In one of its commercial aspects, my liquid heater of my invention is highly advantageous for lunch rooms, drug storesy and the like in providing a continuously available supply of hot Water at a suitable temperature as the liquid constituent Vof hot beverages, since it entirely avoids the decided temperature variations Which occur in an ordinary beverage heater, such as a coffee urn, when the replenishing of the liquid is effected by introducing either steam or Water in the heretofore customary manner.

Moreover, the cle-aerating action in my heater When adjusted for this purpose, makes it particularly suitable for use in connection with certain quickly soluble beverage ingredients. l For example, coffee which has been previously boiled and thereafter evaporated is now available in the form ofminute crystals Which Will dissolve almost instantly in hot Water. With such a coffee preparation, the palatability of the beverage is undesirably effected by oxygen, so that the resulting beverage coffee is decidedly im roved When the Water has first been boiled su ciently to expel the air from it.

present invention meets this requirement by providing a liquid heater in which the replenishing Water not only is preheated, but also is boiled so to expel the occluded air from it, and in which the condensing of the resulting vapor affords the needed additions to the supply of hot consumption Water. Moreover, my invention provides an arrangement for this purpose which will accomplish this evaporation and de-aeration without splashing any appreciable quantity of still aeration water into the consumption Water chamber, without allowing the vapor to build up a pressure in the heater, and Without the escape of any material quantity of steam from the heater.

Y Generally speaking, I accomplish these important obJects in the following manner:

f (nl)A By first cold water, in quanfngstothose drawn from the s' miaiiled mperature water chamber of Y "i waterwiitlxin" this re`- aee'iald'zt'a rate proportioned within this receptacle.

f eater. portion of the A @d vertically for... the L l the f y :una 'constant 'ffff g l r 1- 'prociing'afrapon ventwith 1ts liquid-cannot splash uw uns mecaniciens 'inist below the vapor. ftil- By eaqunfewmulmg vboth the fwlter and rthe water "a'gnnltfradiaticn to 5uid 1 l f m'iy "an-unhfated base cec tion 'for housing certain controlmembers and *9 miss @UPM-P0 f @Patte to the heating capacity qi a heating member (3) ByV .havingL inentingv memberxexj electricswitch of Fig. lahdoftheaperntveks;

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constructing this section to permit ready ac-4 ,f cess to adjusting members. j

(13) By providing simple and readily refe leasable connections between the base section and the main section .of the heater, and bgtwcengcoopcrating par@A carried by these .if sectiensi "'13 Illustrative of a hot water heater embodyin these features, y i

' 1 isn centralani vertical' through a hot water'heater nibodyingmy vention, with the faucet shown in elevation. Y Fig. Q is an enlargement of a poiitionfof Y Figi, showing the exible bellows'r weh v seal the control rod to the bottom of the h lQn. H.. section o1; my water heater.

`Fig". 3 1s on enlarged 11". 7 is an enlargedA dotation of po ons of the central heating# undef the float, with pares .tof bothybifnm awa'ytg" p Fig;8 isa diagramA ofwelcetric `Fig'g- 9 is a plan View A`the base cff'ubf henteand ofthe parte oli tlq'blksg; when from the Ih'9-+0!'l"ig5 1-. i

1e is n een *the water-supp 'whtrvllingmenf newr nommer, taken, lengths of Fi f "Iiggil icm elevation 'of the pper en dif s thema-1mmhmngmbsgpsrny" alygvshowing the'wabct in tisiube f' someof 'thwonveetien Bubbles,l setkey; i rjlhemy htater'fis`adilstcd ordenh' ,e

in@ water. M "fheilrustrstedemeodnm j un;l :gf-mhh comprises ,super-possa' #The blseect'onihcd a basel ,whiuh'tlie nmouth end ofen invertbd'fea Shpdhen 2i! acheelxmmllld'fm plm 1 housedfby meningen@ an electric switch S., and' also atw'nl vab member for metering and missienef wld meer. e The intermediate and main' prisesa double-failed water container; erably'cfA a cylindrical bore, with@ i f of heseinsultingmmin .a betwsenthe in 'n'tu'bahr 'walt i and am -put'e wsu 1a, whichinsuasting mwen o alsofibetween the uppenhndviower eontafn bottom portions 5" und 6.# .The fLL portion 6 is seated on the top 2 A 'of thshcli of the Base section, and the container not; wm as en ss the baise shell top a A ampio;

, tends from thel switch to a float-controlled lever 14 within the container of the main section.

' Extending4 through the central bore in thc container bottom and the base shell top is a plug 8 which has a peripheral flange 8 A overlying the upper part 5 of this container bottom.` This plug is clamped against the lower container bottom 6 by a nut 9 threaded on the lower end of the plug, thereby rigidly connecting the container to the base section and sealing the plug to the bottom oi the container. To prevent the tightening of this plug from compressing the heat-insulating filling in the container bottom, V desirably provide a spacer tube 10 sleeved upon the plug 8 and rigidly spacing the upper and lower container bottom parts 5 and 6 :from each other;

Sleeved' upon the upper end of theplug 8 and seated on the plug fiange 8 A is an upright and upwardly open tube 11 which desirably extends upwards beyond the top of the said container, and into the bottom of which tube water is admitted through an upright bore 12 in the said plug. The plug 8 also supports an electric heating member' generally designated as E within and freely spaced from the tube 11, the upper end of this heating member being spaced downwardly from the upper end of this tube, desirably b-y a distance not less than the interior diameter of the tube. Thus arranged, the tube 11 and the upper portion of the plug form a. receptacle in which the water is heated, and the annular space C between the tube and the inner riser wall 4 of the container forms a consumption water chamber to receive hot waterV which has boiled over the top of the said receptacle.

Rigidly mounted within the `container' is a lever support 12, which desirably is clamped to the tube 11 in such a manner that it can be adjusted as vto its elevation, and upon which lever support the rocking lever (generally designated as 14) is pivoted on a horizontal pivot pin 15'. Depending from one arm 14 A of this lever and desirably connected to `two counterpart portions of this lever arm by links 16 disposed at opposite sides of the tube 11, is a float F which is freely spaced both from the said tube and from the inner tubular container. wall 4. This float is desirably of a hollow cylindrical type and has an upright tube 17 extending through it, which tube underhangs the other and preferably shorter) arm 14 B of the rocking lever, and through which tube the switchcontrolling rod 7 extends.

As here shown, the lever 14 consists of a metal strip doubled iiatwise to form a. U- sectioned end 14 B to which the upper end of the control rod 7 is pivoted (as by having the horizontally turned upper end 7 of the said rod extend through the said doubled lever end) and twin lever arms 14 A from each of which one of the iloat-supporting links 16 depends. These links are preferably diametrically opposite each other with respect to the common axis of the ioat and the tube 11 so as to balance the float against tilting, and each link has its lower end pivoted to a bracket 22 welded to the top of the float.

The support tor this lever comprises two clamp halves 12 B having overlapping ends 12 A extending int-o the U portion 14 A of the lever and connected to the leverl by the pivot pin. 15, and a bolt 1S connecting the other ends 12 C of the clamp halves to clamp the tube (or receptacle riser wall) 11 between them. Extending through the container bottom and the base shell top 2 A is an upright pipe 23 through which the control rod 7 extends, and this tube is sealed to the control rod, preferably by a sealing member which is so flexible as to oii'er no appreciable resistance to the longitudinal (and hence vertical) movement of the rod. For this purpose, I am here showing the sealing member as comprising a top 19 clamped to the control rod, a bottom .2O sealed to a nut 24 which is fastened to the said pipe 23 within the container, and a peripherally corrugated bellows wall 21 (of thin copper or the like) sealed at its opposite ends to the top 19 and bottoni 20. The pipe 23 is also sealed to the container bottom, as by a gasket 25 interposed between a nut 26 which cooperates with a lower nut 27 to clamp .the pipe to the superposco container bottom and base shell top.

For the water supply controlling valve member, I desirably provide an electromagnetic valve which opens and closes the water connection to the said tube, according to the oii and on7 positions of the ioat-controlled switch, together with a manually adjustable throttling valve which merely determines thel rate at which the water will iiow int-o the said heating tube.

ln practice, both of these valves are desirably constructed as a unit, as shown in Figs. 1, 9 and 10. 'These show a valve body 30 having an interior passage 31 connected by a throttle port 32 to an inlet passage 33 to which water is supplied bv a wat-er pipe 34. This port 32 is controlled by a throttle screw 35 threadedly supported by the valve body, so that the maximum rate at which water will be forced through the valve body can be varied by adjusting this screw.

Connecting the interior passage 31 with the outlet passage 65 of the valve body is a second port 36. controlled by the tip of a solenoid core 37 which will seat by gravity to close this port 36 when no current is flowing through the solenoid coil 38. Vhenever the latter port is open, water is supplied to the A b'ya pipe 39 load With the lheating wire 41 sutsbly A "1 lzbblgintheplug Swhich tian'ed,rthe heating of this slowly am..

qthisoreptacle. water will cause the hottest water portm desiiablyonnected rise by convectionte the uppr q o luent 41 of the this receptacle, thereby reducing mener, as shown in Fig.` uired for evaporation at the 11e-18, with the said ace-of the water. Moreover, TQ arcing, I desirbubbles 57 formed at various Wimpie?) swlfeh" "j 'sm having a waterby thel action onf the heang'meml@ luztmr,y alioipreferablyarwill fend to raise thenppex: pertion'ol j* i tli;

w n between the water while these bubbles age f* as topermit surface, thereby tand an easy dis action of the water 'scf i f 1 through the plug in nisingthe le Indy fmployatiltablemexwater-inthetube. Withthe m i which a globule of spaced fromthe Vbore othesail f.-1(mf{nf ont of contact with ceptacle friser lwill n memberbeng bubbles will mostly be spld from? r., ona'herigental also'eothat the ruptur ofthe the d surfa be nl; `e .mouth'odg1oftliis level ef the'wat'er ranches ments., e top,o f

to-53o that above-then i lost aeshown 11,' hehil pontieed'a'nd adjuetedfo .w eiierdiigection rapidly. iz'mg the surface :tion ofv the' die i the cunmi'mpton water tem Y ture slight yheowheboligpdl f chamber of ewater. e .-f:.""f,;g

ofthat cham- When thus operatingth'e vapor'blm r munhgx'edidrareathantheport maybequitesmalhepthttheywill le a: tied to the puncture the upper surface of the faucet 41; while permitting liquirlto prevent any nw of'waetm f u mfof the upperv edge of thesnptwle; snft' i j walierreachestheannuhtconumptionm ";'wdled with he chemberonly'aftfer it-hlarst i ized and then eondensed,-eithor bym f what @001er m mathe-,mbe awww-* consum tion water, orjry contact t covero my heater. l?! f j Since the water when rate from the air, thussecurezan' remoxml'of nearly dlzthix-irmmhe which `u ould notbeiecaseif the:wate r 1 beenbdd so mol'eatlyqaeftofsplnihf dneeieflntwventz'fhemt pipe the mouth end of-theredeptde.

e v 'o ging since' eeuicentrteb wim@ exnped obtained, at a mpmwre 46 the boiling nt of-thsvhtenan opergpf f. file aupeer @auf me my liquidA emr, :mannwpruw i l; 1 1- p steam'nf such al negligible 'presureuslio ffeenfmrisjdntted toa thns'arto blow4 out of the ventftnbe 50. 4f Whew when thisi`empty),by quetly, the amount of lsteam co '.tbeinlet pipe 3410 a water this veret tube by the risingof the thm and alsutnnecting the whichhad been separated from the sup 1 n lighiing'eircuit, so triing that it does not appregiohg; 1. fthe lo'vwlnst position in aect theair of the moulin which 'fit nissltheenntrol rml'toclose the heaaberis used. A n

'L f, "ftliesolenoid core will If my liquid hesiter' is tnbe'used" ois s'tlit'thewaten poses where an elimihatbn f'air l receptacle of oxygen) is net eeed, the by the time liquid from the heating receptacle en -die;mig -i Y sumptionchamber canbeedfecedstillmgll rapidly, by adjusting the throttling screw so that the liquid is admitted more slowly to this receptacle and hence will boil with sufficient violence to splash it over the mouth end of the receptacle. In this case,I may limit the rate of the splashing by providing a battle 52 which overhangs the mouth end of the receptacle. This' baiile preferably is downwardly concaved, and adjustably supported by the receptacle, as by fastening the baille to a narrow strap 53 which has legs 53 A rictionally engaging the upper portion of the* receptacle riser wall or central tube ll. Thus arranged, the baille can readily be slid to adjust its spacing from the mouth end of the receptacle so as to vary the rate at whichwater will be ejected.

Whenever the water in Y the combustion chamber again reaches the level for actuating the float-controlled switch, the latter opens the switch, thereby discontinuing both the action of'the heating member and the supply of water to the central receptacle. Since the upward push of entering water, the lifting action of bubbles in the vwater and the surges in the water are then annulled, the water level in this receptacle then drops somewhat, as to the level T o f Figs. Vl and 11.

However, my liquid heater can also be used advantageousl when no deeaeration of the liquid is nee ed, by merely adjusting the throttling'screw 35 so as to reduce the rate at which water is admitted to the riser tube housing the heating element. Such a greater throttling of the water admission will cause the liquid to rise more slowly within the said tube, thereby exposing it longer to the action of the heating member. Consequently, the upper portion of the liquid in the said tube or inner receptacle will boil more or less violently, and much of this liquid will splash over the top of the tube without having been evaporated.

`When my heater is used in this manner,l

the extent of the splashing with any given violence of theboiling can also be controlled t0 a considerable extent by disposing a baille 52 above the mouthend of the said inner receptacle, as shown in Fig. 7 This baie desirably is detachably supported by the riser wall or tube 11 of the receptacle, as by attaching the baiile to an inverted U-shaped strap 53 having its Shanks 53 A. frictionally engaging the bore of the tube to permit a manual adjustment of its height.

When my heater is used as just described, an opening of the circuit to the heating member by the float-controlled switch soon disconv tinues the surging of the upper portion of the liquidl in the receptacle, so that the liquid level drops to a level T as in Fig'. 1,' theV general adjustments desirably being Ysuch that this levelis considerably/above the upper end of theVv heating member andthat the heating member extends considerably above the normal level L of the consumption water by which the float is affected.

With such a disposition of the parts, the liquid in the upper part of the receptacle normally is considerably hotter thanl that in its lower portion, so that a relatively small heating effect is required to evaporate or boil the upper part of this preheated liquid when the switch again closes the circuit to the heating member. Indeed, I have found in practice that with a liquid heater proportioned as here illustrated, either the evaporating and deaerating action or a splash-boiling action can be resumed Vwithin less than a half minute after each closing of the switch. This speedy responsiveness, when also accompanied by a reasonably sensitive adjustment of the float mechanism, enables me to secure a large capacity of delivered lhot liquid in proportion to the quantity normally stored inthe annular chamber Cof my heater. For example, with a quart of the hot consumption water normally stored in this chamber, and with the ioat mechanism arranged for actuating the switch when less than an ordinary coffee cup of water has been drawn from the faucet, my heater will afford a steady supply of the heated water at the rate of two cups'per minute.

In addition to having an effective capacity many times higher than that of coffee urns in, proportion to its size, my liquid heater also avoids the vitiation of air by steam and by coi'ee odor, and is entirely automatic inoperation. Moreover, my appliance can readily be adjusted so asv to vary the difference between the boiling point of the liquid and the temperature of the heated consumption portion of the liquid, this portion being only slightly cooled by conduction from the cooler liquid in the lower part of the liquid preheating receptacle because of the relatively small cross-section of the receptacle in proportion to that of the consumption chamber C. i j

To facilitate needed adjustments, I desirably provide the base plate l with apertures l A and l B, through which the user can reach* certain parts when the heater is propped up od its normal support. For example, if a change in the pressure of the water supplied to the heater through the water inlet pipe 34 makes the faucet-discharged water too hot or too cool, the user can readily reach through one of these apertures to turn the throttling valve 35 in one direction or the other.

These base apertures also permit the user to detach the switch mechanism from the rod Thy removing the lower nut 4S, to detach the circuit wires from the heating member and the solenoid coil, and to detach both the nut 9 on the plug, and the lower `nut 27 on the rod-guiding pipe, thereby permitting the entire container section of my heater to be witm f." haar damning uhhpmlm ism www m rigmfmlwmmm-mlea im man @M 'agi-1 w @mi muni-the,

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splashed through the outlet of the receptacle against the said wall.

13. A water heater as per claim 1, including a vent duct supported by the cover and freely spaced from the said receptacle, the vent duct having its lower end at an elevation lower than the upper end of the receptacle.

14. A liquid heater as per claim 1, including a baille underhanging the cover and spaced upwardly from the discharge outlet of the receptacle for limiting the upward splashing ot' liquid from the receptacle, the baille being downwardly concaved and of larger diameter than the upper end of the receptacle.

15. A liquid heater as per claim 1, including a baffle overlying and spaced upward from the receptacle tor limiting the height to which boiling liquid surges out o't the receptacle, and a barile-supporting member fast upon the baille and slidable upon the receptacle to adjust the height of the baille.

16. A liquid heater as per claim 1, in which the control means include a float disposed in the said chamber, an electric switch, an electromagnetic duct-control valve, a circuit operatively connecting the switch with both the electric heating member and the said valve; and a switch-actuating mechanism interposed between the iioat and the switch; the water heater including basal shell of inverted cup shape, the container being seated upon and fastened to the top of the said shell, and the said shell housing the said switch and valve.

17. A liquid heater comprising a container, a plug extending through the bottom of the container, an upright and upwardlyT open tube having its lower end sleeved upon the plug, the said tube being of smaller diameter and less height than the interior oi the container; the plug having an upright bore through which water is ad1.itted into the tube, and an electric heating member supported by the plug, the said member including a heating portion disposed entirely within and below the upper end of the tube.

18. A water heater as per claim 1, in which the electric heating member is of an inverted U-shape and has its Shanks downwardly through the plug.

19. A liquid heater comprising a container, an upright tube sealed at its lower end to the bottom of the container and having its upper end spaced downwardly from the top of the container, the container having' its riser wall freely'spaced from the tube and having an outlet in the lower portion of the said wall; a liquid supply duct opening into the lower portion of the said tube, an electric heating member disposed within the tube, an automatic control means for simultaneously controlling the flow of water through the said duct and the operation of the heating member in response to variations in the level of liquid in the container radially outward of the said tube.

20. A liquid heater comprising a container, a base shell including a shell top underlying the bottom of the container, an upright and perforated plug extending through the said shell top and the said container bottom, an upright tube sleeved upon the upper end of the plug, an electric heating member supported by the plug and extending within the said tube and presenting its terminal portions within the said shell, and means associated with the plug for releasably clamping the container bottom to the said shell top.

21. In a. liquid heater having a cup-like container having an outlet below the normal level ci the liquid, a heating member disposed with the container, an upright tube freely housing the said member and sealed at its lower end to the bottom of the container but open at its top, the upper end ot the tube being at higher elevation than the said level, means for supplying liquid to the lower portion ot the tube, and control means responsive to the quantity of liquid in the container outward of the said tube for con,- trolling both the supply of liquid and the operation of the heating member, the control means being arranged for continuously maintaining liquid within the said tube at heights above the top of the heating member.

In an appliance for heating and deaerating a liquid which has air occluded in it, an upright container, an upwardly open receptacle'centrally disposed within the container and ot less height than the interior of the container, the container having an outlet in its lower portion outward of the receptacle and the receptacle having a liquid inlet at its bottom, an electric heating member disposed within the receptacle and having its upper end at lower elevation than the upper end ot the receptacle, and adjustable means for controlling the admission of liquid under pressure through the said inlet at such a rate in proportion to the capacity of the receptacle and the wattage of the heating member that the combined ettects ot' the said member and of the upward pushing of liquid in the receptacle by the entering liquid will cause a continuously complete evaporation of the uppermost portion of the liquid.

i3. A liquid heating and de-aerating appliance as per claim 2Q, including means independent of the said adjustable means for simultaneously halting the actuation of the heating member and the admission of liquid to the receptacle when the level of liquid in the container outward of the receptacle reaches a predetermined height, and for simultaneously restarting the said actuation and liquid admission when the said level falls to a predetermined extent.

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iiqldheqterempsin zcontaner,

upright :partitiolmg means wi in the container for dvidin th'nteror of the `con- Y tuinen info aliqu' -preheating chamber and "l lint-liquid dumber, the upper ends Mmssid ch comunicati with v fcmthcma hetingmember wisthint esaid i -fv' 'A chamber; means for furcing cold *Y idskuwly upvxrd withinthe ting Y l l0 :minusl within the preheatingcham i1" bw for heating tlmA Bquid; and afhustable e whereby them of the said ward 'n im; of the can be constrolle so as tncmaa the hemhquid to be transferred ffl ll to the sturing chamber either by calming a to boil ovexbthe upper end gli-the Partiinning' pemex' yevapora -quid 1n the Y preheatmg dumber and petxxlnlngttimg the resiting to condense in the storing '1:13 "il i Y I i v a heater, u liquid heating a hot Iiquid storing :oom-

' nt, meaus'far' 'heating liquid while P V heating campen i cantrolmexus for regulating extbhtltgmtwsaidowing liquid; u K matmeailsbeing adjustable so either be transferred in y y compartment U tuhqmd sturing nt, or may be Y y 'and .e from the heating i L l. rtment tkerfter condensed with- 1n' e heter'irxto the said storin compartmut, taxllyas shown an deseribed. Signed: at Clevefand, Ohio, March 17th,

LEE EGBEEN. 

